Brock PhD graduate Hamnah Shahid researches stigma around decriminalization, to begin UBC postdoc
Hamnah Shahid (MA ’22, PhD ’26) completed a Brock PhD examining how drug‑decriminalization policy affects stigma toward people who use drugs. Their study combined public‑comment analysis and local focus groups. In January they will start a postdoctoral fellowship at UBC with the BC Centre for Substance Use.
At Brock’s convocation on Oct. 16, 2026, Hamnah Shahid was awarded a PhD in Psychology for research on the systemic and social dimensions of substance‑use stigma amid policy change. Supervised by Assistant Professor Scott Neufeld, Shahid analyzed public submissions to a Vancouver policy consultation and conducted focus groups with participants recruited via Positive Living Niagara and The Raft. They will begin a postdoctoral fellowship in January at the University of British Columbia, in partnership with the BC Centre for Substance Use, supervised by Professors Thomas Kerr and Jade Boyd.